A Movie Script Ending
by Jugband Arnold
Summary: This started as scenarios written off from Movies. Consists of a couple of figments from my own imagination as well. Rules: 1. I OWN NOTHING. Absolutely none of this is mine.2. No two chapters are to be correlated, unless mentioned. 3. Apologies for any errors. 4. Hope you like it.
1. How do I loathe thee?

Gail Peck stared at the equipment before her, she was the lone person sitting at the top of the bleachers of the school grounds, waiting eagerly for the signal from Dov about the band. She could see Holly playing on the field, and she licked her lips looking at the young brunette. Gail Peck didn't normally go to these lengths for anyone, but when the brunette had scorned her for her advances; it had only spurred Gail to try harder to impress the nerd.

Meddling with the various controls for the public announcement system, Gail gave Dov the stink eye as she saw him scrambling about the field, waiting for Dov to give her the signal to put her master plan into action. Finally, Dov looked up to her and nodded and Gail smirked. It was time.

Adjusting the various knobs, and setting the volume at max, Gail took the mike and started her little serenade.

_"You're just too good to be true._

_Can't take my eyes off of you. "_

Holly, who had been goofing with her friends for a while after her game, stopped to look around to find whoever it was singing like this.

Gail decided to show off a bit, grabbed the speaker-post that was next to her, and slid down the pole, down to the lower steps of the bleachers, singing all the while. Holly saw Gail, clad in her usual leather jacket and ruffled up short hair, standing at the bleachers, holding a mike and singing.

_"You'd be like heaven to touch._

_I wanna hold you so much._

_At long last love has arrived._

_And I thank God I'm alive."_

Gail crooned as tenderly as she could, her eyes never leaving Holly. She gave Holly a genuine smile and Holly was trying her best to hide her absolute glee, failing quite a bit. Gail slowly walked about the bleachers and pointed a finger at Holly as she sang, just in case the brunette tried ignore her after this, and Holly grinned lopsidedly at her. Holly was unable to muster her usual indifference at everyone's attempt to impress her, as this was something out of her wildest dreams.

_"You're just too good to be true._

_Can't take my eyes off of you."_

_Now for the plan._ Nodding to Dov, who was sweating and waiting for her signal. Dov saw her and whistled to the rest of the marching band, which had assembled while Gail was serenading Holly. The whole marching band started playing and marching, and Gail couldn't resist seeing the joy on Holly's face. Holly was completely amazed at the marching band and she and let out a laugh. She had to admit it now; Gail Peck wasn't someone she could ignore anymore. Gail let herself go now, knowing she had nothing to lose now.

_"I need you baby, if it's quite all right,_

_I need you baby to warm a lonely night._

_I love you baby."_

Holly looked around at her friends and Holly walked towards the bleachers, not believing this was all actually happening.

_"Trust in me when I say, OK."_

This was all out of character for Gail, she didn't go about singing to nerdy brunettes in public announcement systems, but she had to admit, this was the most fun she had in a long time especially seeing Holly lopsidedly grinning at her and laughing at her goofiness. Gail was dancing about the bleachers the best she could, busting out all moves she could with the little space she had. Holly was immensely touched. No one ever made a fool of themselves this bad for her.

_"Oh pretty baby, "Don't let me down," I pray."_

Gail was putting her heart and soul into her singing, not caring about anything at all. She pranced down the steps, staring at Holly, who was trying to hide her face, but kept bursting into laughter everytime she saw Gail dancing so joyfully.

_"Oh pretty baby, now that I found you, stay. "_ Gail sat on one of the benches, and stared at Holly longingly, and lost herself in the song.

_"And let me love you, baby let me love you,"_

At that, Holly knew the cheeky, snarky blonde had gotten under her skin, and was going to stay there, and Holly was feeling increasingly comfortable with letting her guard down with the blonde.

As the marching band kept playing on, Gail noticed that two security guards were now hauling her away and Holly finally gave in. She was impressed, she and all her friends started clapping and cheering as they hauled her away and seeing this only spurred Gail to be more mischievous. Fighting out of the hold of the two guards and escaping, only to run back and prance about more for Holly's eyes.

Holly doubled up in laughter at her antics, and Gail ran about the bleachers, running from the guards who were now chasing her, and got behind one of the guards, spanked him as he struggle with chasing her and ran off again, all this eliciting more cheers from the watching crowd, all while the marching band still still played on.

As Holly saw Gail finally get hauled off the bleachers, Holly bit her lip and looked around.

_Damn you, Peck._

___A.N: I just love this scene so much this way._


	2. Buy a bedside lamp!

_A.N: Biggest Dilemma: Who to write as whom. Man this scene has a lot of dialogue._

* * *

"I know I should know this, darling, but are you mad at me?" The couple had just had dinner with Gail's mother and were now walking together back down the streets to their apartment. Gail was walking furiously while Holly tried to keep up.

" Gail. I did something, right? I did something bad, right? Should I know what it is?" The blonde just kept charging up the stairs to their home, not waiting for Holly to catch up at all.

"Or is it something maybe you just think I did?" At this, Gail stopped to look at Holly, giving her the typical Peck glare.

"Nope, no. I did it. I did it. It was a bad, bad thing I did, and I'm so sorry, love." The blonde huffed and continued up the stairs again.

"Gail, come on, will you? Gail, wait. Baby" Holly had finally caught up to her furious wife and gripped her shoulders.

"You have to let me in on it. Or are you waiting until we're in the apartment before you talk to me?" Gail nodded in silence and Holly sighed in defeat.

"Are you gonna make me sleep in the bathtub again?" Pushing past her wife, Gail unlocked the door, getting ready to lash out. Holly knew she was in for a bit of rough night, tonight.

" I don't know what I said!" Holly slammed the door as Gail stormed into the bedroom of their tiny yet comfy apartment.

"You said it. You know you said it!" The blonde made her way over to her dresser gearing up for bed.

"No, I don't know what I said but I didn't mean it."

"You mean everything you say."

"Gail, sometimes I mean nothing when I say something." The blonde scoffed at that reply, pacing about the room, undressing at the same time.

"Something is never nothing, Holly. It's always something."

"Well, most of what I say is nothing. Just something to say." Holly said, undressing herself and making her way to the dressing table. This was how things usually were. The blonde usually jumped off the deep-end over the most random incidents, and Holly normally took it on herself to calm her down. This time however, things seemed to be getting out of hand.

"No, people say it's just something to say to get away with saying something but they know they're saying something."

"Say what? What did I say?"

"You said at my mother's, you would have a baby but that I'm not ready. To my mother! You might as well have said that I hate babies."

"Well.." The blonde picked up the boot she just removed and hurled it at the brunette, before she could say anything more.

"Hey!"

"You told my mother I didn't want children!"

"I did not. I didn't say that."

"Uh yes, but a little bit you did."

"I did not."

"I didn't say that you weren't ready to have a baby, Gail. I said that you wanted to wait!"

"Which means I don't want one right now!"

"Right!"

The two of them had undressed by now and clad in their underwear, were having the biggest outburst they had in a while.

Gail laughed. "Thank you!" she quipped,finally proving her point.

"Wait a minute. I'm confused." Holly said to the apartment, "Can I get a ruling on this? Anyone?"

"No, you're not confused, you're just wrong. We had a plan, Holly! To wait to have children until we could buy an apartment put 25 percent of each paycheck into a separate joint account with a 6.25 interest for 5 didn't you tell my mother that, huh?" Gail rattled off, her perfect plan coming to memory. She turned and headed into the bedroom with Holly close on her heels, laughing.

"Ha! Each paycheck? Babe, you only just started getting regular paychecks. You quit five jobs in two years, remember?"

"Yeah well, I can't work for idiots."

"They can't all be idiots."

"Yes, they can. They can all be idiots. And they are." Turning to switch on the lamp, she tried to defend her stand.

"And why didn't you tell my mother about the business loan you and Lisa took out without asking me?" The blonde pointed a finger at her wife's face, venting out a lot of pent-up emotions as she did.

"Aha! You see, You finally said it. I knew that's why you're angry."

"No that's not the reason. It is not the reason."

"Oh I think it is the reason."

"We should have waited."

"Waited for what? What? I've been driving limos for four years, Gail. So Lisa and me, we wanna start a business. We buy a few cars, we get a few clients. That's a career right there. What is your problem?!"

"What if it doesn't work? What if we always have to live here? And what about what I want, huh? You think I wanna be a real estate agent? Showing apartments to buy that I can never live in? There may be other things I wanna do with my life." Holly was realizing this fight was turning serious and she sobered a little, learning that this wasn't just another of Gail's random outbursts.

"Okay. Like what?"

"I don't know. Other things."

"Then quit, all right? The job makes you cranky at home anyway. You wanna have a baby? Let's do it!" Holly yelled out, trying to make sense to her stubborn wife.

"See? I hate when you do that."

Gail grabbed one end of the bedsheet to make the bed, while Holly grabbed the other. As much as they were fighting, their nightly habit of making the bed was something they couldn't simply disregard

"Ha! Do what?"

"'Let's have a baby. La-la-la! In a five-floor walkup we can barely move in. I'd change diapers on the windowsill. You have to have a plan, Holly. You can't act like everything's just gonna work out by itself." Gail was now clearing the bed, throwing the pillows harder with every word she said. "Why do I have to be the responsible grownup who worries? Why can't I be the cute, carefree brunette who sings all the time?"

Holly's face broke into the smallest lopsided grin, remembering the blonde's previous attempt at singing, "Because you can't sing without making dogs bark…Ooh!"

"Look, Gail, people have babies with no money all the time. If you're so worried about it, why don't you stop buying designer clothes?" she said, holding up the shoe that Gail had just thrown at her.

"I buy everything on eBay! It doesn't count when you're wearing Marc Jacobs from Minneapolis!" Gail rushed into the bathroom, Holly close on her heels. Looking deep into crystal blue eyes, Holly finally decided to ask the obvious question.

"Do. You. Want to have a baby?

"Do you?" Gail's looked up to catch Holly looking at her reflection in the mirror.

"Yes, I do."

"See?"

"See what!?"

"I know what you're really saying even when you don't say it. You said that to my mother because you're mad at me for not wanting children because I'm no fun anymore and we don't have enough hot, nasty sex because I'm always bitching about bills. Why don't you just be honest and say it? Say what you mean."

"All right, fine. I wish we had more hot, nasty sex." Holly ducked before another shoe could hit her. "Or the other kind is fine." Holly finished, staring at her wife pace back into the bedroom.

"What you're really saying is this isn't the life you wanted, is it?" Holly's face lost all playfulness and she looked at Gail in shock.

"Well, that's not what I'm saying. Is that what you're saying?" Holly was visibly broken to find herself saying this, but she knew she needed to get this out.

"And what if this is it, Holly? What if this is all there is to our life?"

"What do you mean?"

"I means this is it. We're a married couple who own a limo company...who may or may not have children, end of story."

"Well, what other story do you want, Gail?

"I don't know"

Holly was now completely enraged and she grabbed Gail by the arm and started yelling at her.

"What do you want!? What? Because I'm tired of trying to figure it out. You want a bigger apartment? I'll take a second job. You want a child, you don't want a child. What! I know what I want because I have it in my hands right now. Do you? Do you know what you want? Because you better tell me now if I'm not it."

"Or what? You gonna leave?" Gail shook herself free from Holly's grip and walked back to the bedroom.

"Do you want me to leave?" yelled Holly.

"If you wanna leave."

"Don't use me as an excuse. I'll leave if you want me to."

"Then leave if you wanna go."

"Don't push me," Holly warned the blonde.

"If you wanna leave, just say goodbye."

"God damn it, Gail." Holly cried out, grabbing Gail's t-shirt which was on the couch. Hastily pulling it over her head, Holly stepped out of the apartment and slammed the front door. Gail, in turn went to the bedroom door and slammed it shut. However, a second later, she opened the door, hoping to find Holly back home. Holly of course, opened the door and entered the house again, all her anger forgotten and left outside.

"Are we finished now, love? Can I come back?"

"Yeah. Yes you can." Gail raced towards Holly as she approached her, wrapping her legs tightly around the brunette. The two tried to forget all the anger they were just harboring and Gail kissed Holly as hard as she could. Holly broke into a soft smile as Gail kissed her, slowly walking and carrying Gail to towards the bedroom,kissing her the whole while.

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry," Gail breathed against Holly's lips.

"No. I'm sorry, baby." Gail kissed her again, Holly still held Gail close, apologizing over and over for the outburst.

"I'm sorry I said the wrong thing to your mother. God, I still get nervous around her. I still think after nine years, she doesn't like me. I know I'm being stupid." Gail laughed a little and Holly felt better again seeing her wife smile again.

"No, you're not being stupid, baby. She doesn't like you."

"Really? And I thought deep down, she really loved me." Holly pouted a little at Gail, and Gail kissed her again.

"Sorry hon, she doesn't. I was 19 when we got married and you corrupted me with sex and charm and the longer it takes you to make your fortune, the less sexy and charming you are," Gail said, teasing her and Holly grinned her lopsided grin and was glad to see Gail be her normal self again. Grabbing Holly's face, Gail kissed her again, and started rambling.

" My mother said it was a mistake marrying you because I loved you too much. 'It won't last,' she said. I don't wanna make any mistakes, Holly." Holly wrapped her hands around Gail's neck, soothingly explaining her explanation for the universal truth.

"Well, you're in the wrong species, babe. Be a duck ", Gail snorted at that, while Holly continued "We're not a mistake just because we don't have any money. And we are gonna last. You know how I know?" The blonde shook her head no. "Because I still wake up every morning...and the first thing I want to do is see your face."

"Oh, I'm sorry, Holly. I see people buying bigger apartments and having babies. I get so afraid sometimes that our life's never gonna start."

"No, baby. We're already in our life. It's already started. This is it. You have to stop waiting, baby. And you can't keep biting my head off and telling me to leave. I'm not going anywhere. I'm not like your dad. Or don't you know that yet?" Gail smiled at Holly and gave her one last peck on the lips.

"I should get my 're all over the place. They're gonna think I don't love them." Holly let go of her wife, hoping her wife was feeling better after the whole incident, and then decided that making her wife laugh would be the best now. After Gail scrambled into bed, Holly decided a little strip-tease would be perfect.

Slowly and quite adorably dorkish, Holly started undressing for Gail, who was laughing at her wife's antics.

"Whoo! Shake it, baby. Do the stomach shake!" Bursting out in laughter, Holly complied and lifted t-shirt and doing her sexy stomach roll.

"Whooo go baby!" Holly ran into her closet and pulled on a pair of shorts with suspenders over her t and entered the bed room yet again, eager to complete her routine.

During a particularly seductive move however, the suspender's clasp snapped and hit Holly in the eye before falling with a clatter under the bed.

"Oh! Ow! My eye! I'm blind." Holly climbed into bed on top of Gail and began kissing the laughing blonde.

"Oh, wait! The light. You were up last!" Gail groaned, realizing the bedroom light was now on.

"The light?"

"Yeah, you were up last."

"But I'm not up now, am I? Gail, look, I'm injured. My eye."

"God. A pain in my ass I tell you," the blonde said as she stumbled to turn out the lamp, and made her way back to the bed.

"Aw thanks babe. Come on, get back to bed or I'm gonna start without you."

"Aah! Shit."

"You okay?"

"Shit, no! My toe!"

"I'm telling you. Someone should get a light on that side of the bed. It's ridiculous."

"I'll get my next wife to do it," the blonde joked with a cheeky grin.

"Next wife, my ass." Holly muttered half asleep, grabbing Gail into a tight embrace before falling asleep, as they did, night after night.

_A.N__ I mean her name in this movie is Holly for Christ's sake. And his is Gerry. That's G+H yet again. _


	3. Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind

A.N: Apologies if I spoil this movie for you, but this is the movie I would rank as the most romantic thing ever. Chances are there 'd be a few chapters based on scenarios from this movie. I think I left this for someone as prompt to fill, and they never did .So, here goes. I actually figured I'ld write this a little written into the who don't know this movie, it is The Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. Since I'm not messing with "Meet me in Montauk." for the sake of this fic, let's assume Montauk is in Toronto. Please?

* * *

Holly looked around the dark forest, the rustling of the leaves sounding extremely loud in the night. She knew this was the last of her memories with Gail, or rather, the first memory of the blonde and smiled. The memories had somehow been warped and Gail had managed to grab a bottle of bourbon from a cabinet somewhere and was drinking from it. Holly looked around the crime scene, the Robby Robbins case, and she remembered every inch of their first acquaintance again. Holly knew however, these memories were being erased from her mind as she was reliving them and long hours of running with Gail through her own memories in desperate hopes for escape, only to fail every time had made the brunette lose hope in ever escaping. Realizing this was the last time she would ever recognize the blonde, ever remember her and after this, she would never be a part of her life anymore. Holly gave into the finality of the whole situation and sighed, realizing the only thing to do now was to relive this moment in time.

"This is it Hol." Gail stated, from a nearby log she was perched on quite comfortably, bottle of bourbon in one hand. She was dressed in her police uniform and with her hair long and blonde, just as Holly remembered her. This was Gail talking to her conscious through her memories and she knew, soon all this would fade away into nothing.

"I know." Holly was devastated at the whole outcome of things. She had thought erasing the blonde from her memories would make things better, but somehow in reliving all the happy moments she had shared with Gail had made Holly fall in love with her again. She didn't know what to feel,all she knew was that this was the end.

"What do we do?" Gail asked, staring at Holly's 'lunchbox' which was on the ground next to Holly. She had been kicking herself for erasing the pathologist from her own memories and was hoping that if she could somehow salvage the brunette's memories, she would be saved.

Holly turned to look at Gail, a bright light illuminating just her and sending the rest of the forest in darkness. This whole Lacuna procedure was really messing with her memories. She smiled her lopsided grin at Gail and turned to look back at the crime scene.

"Enjoy it."

The two of them sat on the log, sharing the bottle of bourbon, as the memory played out in Holly's mind for the last time, consequentially being erased at the same time. She turned to smile at Gail. The trees were falling down, and the whole scene began to shake. Holly knew this was it. She stared at Gail and smiled softly.

"Bye Holly." Gail smiled, darkness flooding into every corner of Holly's vision as the memory was slowly erased from her mind.

"I love you." Holly said, not willing to leave without saying it, even if it was just a memory which was to be erased anyway.

Gail leaned forward towards Holly as if to kiss her, but then whispered in Holly's ear as she herself now faded away from her memory.

"Meet me in Montauk."

* * *

The next day, Holly woke up alone and was flabbergasted at the inconsistencies there seemed to be in her living. She couldn't recollect much from the past 2 years. Nothing about the way she lived made sense to her. Writing everything off as random inconsistencies that popped up into her head, Holly found herself impulsively driving to the train station, for now reason in particular and she stood there, waiting for a train to Montauk, instead of driving to her job at Toronto PD. Rushing through stubborn people standing in her way, Holly made it on the train to Montauk.

After she boarded the train, she stopped to think at her own actions. Why had she not gone to work? Why was she on this train to Montauk? Who was in Montauk for her to meet? Holly had no idea as to what she had actually done, but she decided her sub-conscious was in the right place and was probably steering her in the right way. Getting off at Montauk, for some reason cosmic reason, Holly hiked up the lonely trail up a hill to end up and an abandoned clearing. She didn't know why she was here, but here she was, trying to comprehend why her brain had led her to this random forest all of a sudden, in such a rush at that.

Holly suddenly caught sight of a blonde, short-haired cop who seemed as if she appeared from nowhere. The blonde was surprised to see anyone on the lonely hillside and she was extremely confused with her own behavior today. They both stared at each other and knew this definitely wasn't their first meeting. The blonde cop nodded at the red forensic analysis kit which Holly always carried with her and Holly acknowledged the blonde and then scurried off back to the town. Holly stopped for a moment at a local cafe where she spotted the cop again and again at the lonely train station, she noticed they were the only 2 people there.

On the train back, Holly looked around the half empty compartment, and noticed the short-haired blonde was on the train as well. She looked at the blonde, who stared back at her with slight hesitation, then grinned at Holly and approached her, hoping to strike up idle conversation with this intriguing brunette. Settling for the seats in front of the brunette, she started the conversation.

"Hi!"

"Hello. Hi."

"So, how far are you going?"

"Umm, Toronto."

"Me too! What are the odds?"

The two of them seemed to be having this mindless conversation, but they were trying to understand why the other person seemed so familiar to them.

"Do you work at the Toronto Police Department or something?" the blonde asked, wondering why she was drawn to this reserved brunette. She smiled at Holly, who however socially awkward she seemed, was calm having this conversation with her.

"Yeah."

"That's where I know you from!" The police officer snapped her fingers and looked at her, staring at the brunette with a grin.

"I don't remember you at all." Holly stated back, looking at her with confusion all over her face. The blonde, realizing that the conversation was probably over, slumped into the seats, while Holly tried to collect herself and understand why she was so open with this complete stranger.

"Hi! I'm Gail, by the way."

Gail could not understand why she kept talking to this brunette, why her brain would not shut up and let her ride back home in peace, but something in her subconscious was calling out to this woman and she grinned and Holly grabbed her extended hand and shook it.

"I'm Holly." Holly replied, grinning back her lopsided grin and she knew that there was definitely something underlying the whole encounter, but she couldn't quite put her finger on it.


	4. A chance meeting

Sitting at the train station, Gail frowned, waiting for the next train home. Trouble was, it was past midnight and the next train home was due in 2 hours. Stuffing her hands into the pockets of her leather jacket, Gail pushed her head back and rested it hard on the wall behind the bench she was seated on. It was pretty dark, only a few lights were on at the station and these lights threw the rest of the station in darkness. There was absolutely no one at the station, not a soul in sight and Gail began to wish she had charged her phone before leaving her parent's house.

Frustrated with not knowing what to do for the next 2 hours, Gail closed her eyes to try and sleep for a while, but in vain.

Opening her eyes to gaze up at the station's roof, she tried to clear out her mind, but all her thoughts seemed to be running into the other and she decided now was as a good a time as any to contemplate on what her life had become. Taking a deep breath, Gail had unwittingly decided that this lonely little train station was where she would make up her mind on her life-changing choices.

That seemed too loaded to think off, however. For some reason, whenever Gail thought about her life, no happy memories came to mind. All that came to mind were moments of solitude and being left in the cold. Nothing else. Gail began to wonder if she would ever have happy memories to look back at when she did grow old. Gail wasn't wild; she hadn't done anything on a whim. All that Gail had done in her life - was do what she assumed was expected of her and when that got too hard for her to do - she lashed out in rebellion. Gail had never done anything her heart had told her to do, to the point where she

wondered if she ever longed for anything anymore. Gail was now deep in contemplation.

Had she managed to lose herself in the process of being everything she was expected to be? Did she have anything to show for herself, in a way that didn't involve rebellion against authority? Gail groaned at her memories. Ran away from home to refuse going to camp, dying her black to in an

attempt to be Goth and annoy her mother, even now , she was sitting stubbornly at the station as she had refused to apply for a promotion and her mother had been admonishing her about the fact that she wasn't a child anymore.

Digging her hands harder into her pockets, Gail closed her eyes and willed her brain to shut up and get some shut-eye.

However a nearby rustling noise made Gail alert and Gail sat up to see what exactly it was that was moving closer.

Gail noticed a tall brunette woman giving a soft smile and this woman settled herself on the other end of the bench she was on. Gail eyed her with the suspicion she regarded everyone with and after assuming this woman wasn't going to bug her, Gail resumed her position of staring the roof and crossed her legs, in an attempt to ward off any attempt of conversation this brunette might start. The brunette however had come prepared to wait it out at the station and had opened a book she had brought with her. Gail looked away from the brunette, feigning disinterest in the brunette. After roughly five minutes of staring at the darkness in the station, spotted with a few lights here and there, Gail decided that perhaps the most interesting thing at the station was this person sitting next to her.

Hands still in her pockets, Gail turned to look at the brunette. A sole light was on over her head and Gail looked at the brunette who was deeply interested in her book. Gail studied the woman, who didn't move an inch and was now wearing a pair of spectacles which gave her an extremely bookish look. Her brown hair fell down her shoulders ruffled and slightly disheveled and Gail couldn't help but think the woman was extremely beautiful and a tad mysterious. This woman completely ignored Gail and didn't even seem to notice the staring.

After eyeing the brunette till she was bored, Gail again looked up to the roof and began her contemplative thought processes yet again.

After reading a dense paragraph, Holly looked up from her book and turned to see a blonde who was sitting like a five year old who had just been scorned. The blonde was pouting up looking at the roof and managed to look beautiful sighing and occasionally mumbling at the roof of the station.

"Do you mind? I'm trying to read here." said Holly, turning to frown at the stranger, a little annoyed at the presence of someone else at her favourite spot at the station.

Gail hadn't even realised she was muttering to herself and glared at the brunette. After a moment of glaring at each other in silence, Gail huffed out and resumed staring at the roof, her mouth shut this time and Holly returned to her book.

* * *

Gail jerked awake at someone shaking her, she looked up to see the mysterious brunette jostling her. Pulling herself away from the brunette's grasp, Gail groaned at being awoken from a short and uncomfortable nap.

"The train will here in a minute," the brunette mumbled at her, and Gail in her half-awake state looked at the brunette. She looked gorgeous and Gail was surprised at just how amazingly beautiful this woman was. Sitting up straight, she noticed this woman was ready to board the train. A few more people were scattered in the station and all the lights were on now, which made the station look extremely different from what it did in the half light of the night. Perhaps that's why the brunette looked so different. Gorgeous even.

Waking up thoroughly as the train rumbled into the station, Gail stood up, quickly pulling her hands out of her pockets to set her hair right. As the train slowly came to a halt at the platform, Gail stared as the brunette quickly scurried onto the train and Gail slowly shuffled towards the empty train compartment.

Sitting down at one of the seats, Gail noticed the brunette had already gotten a seat and was already pulling the book out of her bag. Gail studied the woman as she looked at the window to see the station moving away before bending down to her book.

Gail was now quite awake and knew there was no way she would sleep now. Sneaking one last glance at the brunette, Gail decided that perhaps some interaction would entertain her on the half- hour long train journey home. Moving to a seat opposite the brunette, Gail noticed that this brunette wasn't only deep in her book, she was pointedly ignoring her.

"What was a woman like you doing at a lonely station like that?"

Holly looked up from her book to see the blonde was sitting opposite her and was mesmerized with how blue this blonde woman's eyes were. Taking a deep breath and closing her book, Holly looked at the woman who was opposite her and thought perhaps actual conversation would do her some good.

"I could say the same thing to you now," Holly replied, glancing at the blonde a moment longer before turning to look outside the window to see the city rushing by.

"I can defend myself, you on the other hand don't seem the kind that spends nights at a train station." Gail jibed back, slightly glad this woman hadn't exactly shot her down for the conversation.

"I manage quite fine by myself, no need to worry yourself sick about that."

Gail winced at that reply and then looked out the window herself, not really sure what to say anymore. Biting her lower lip, Gail squinted to look outside as the train was slowly pulling to a stop at the next station.

"Where do you get off?" Gail started, in a hopeful attempt to renew the conversation.

The brunette gave Gail a lopsided grin - "None of your business" the brunette replied back and

Gail was surprised at the snark this brunette was throwing her. Fine, two can play at that game. Shrugging her shoulders and thinking perhaps this brunette wasn't going to share much with her, Gail stuffed her hands in her pockets yet again and sunk low in her seat.

"That's a sign that you're not exactly a talker, you know?" the brunette blurted out, before she could stop herself.

Gail looked up at the other woman and frowned as if to say what. She wasn't going to talk to this woman anymore than she could help it, now that she had been scorned anyway.

"Sticking your hands in your pockets is a typical sign that a person doesn't prefer social interaction." Holly ratted off, as if from memory.

Raising an eyebrow at the brunette, Gail shook her head and looked out the window and decided it was her turn to ignore the brunette.

Holly sighed and turned to look out the window. " I always take the 4:20 to Toronto when I'm out here. I've never seen you out here however."

Gail sneaked a glance at her and smirked. Not turning to look at the brunette, Gail started her reply

"I just thought the best place to think about stuff would be the train station."

" Well, was it?"

Gail shrugged her shoulders and now looked at the brunette who was opposite her.

" I guess in the process of becoming what I'm supposed to be, I've forgotten what I wanted to be."

"In what sense?" Holly questioned back, slightly thankful the blonde seemed to have gotten over her sarcastic reply.

Gail snorted at that questioned and thought for a minute before replying "In every sense there is."

Holly smiled at the blonde, who seemed to be quite collected for all the worrying thoughts she put out here.

"Well?" Gail asked seeing the brunette smiling and noticing it was lopsided.

"Everyone's nowhere they want to be. That's kind the point of life. Living on to get to be where you wanna be."

"Yes, but at some point you learn that you're never going to be where you want to be. That's depressing. "

The brunette nodded, not knowing what to reply to the apparently philosophical blonde.

"It's like being on a train like this you know. And it's going on and on, and you don't know where to get off. So you keep riding it, on and on, hoping someone will tell you where to get off and take you to where you want to be."

The brunette chuckled at that statement, liking where the conversation was heading.

"That's a lot of expectations from the world – besides you don't seem the romantic type."

Gail shook her head and looked outside yet again.

"It isn't romantic. It's what we expect from life."

" And now you're disappointed that you haven't gotten that?"

"Well, are you happy where ever you are?

Holly pondered the question from a moment and sighed.

"Perhaps not."

"See! It's all pointless. " Gail exclaimed, shifting in her seat to sit upright.

"But I'd like to think I'm getting where I want to be." The train was slowly stopping at the station.

"False hopes. That's all there is." Gail muttered, as Holly stood up to get off the train. Gail absent-mindedly stood up herself and followed the brunette to the train door. Holly also didn't notice that Gail was following her and was thinking off a point to think off to come back to the blonde's pessimism with existence.

"That's not true. There are people who are satisfied with where they are." Holly started, getting off the train and began walking home, while Gail followed her, walking by her side, hands still stuffed in her jacket pockets.

"See, that's where I think you're wrong. No one's happy. Everyone just pretends to be happy and beneath this façade, they're all miserable."

"I don't believe that. " Holly shook her head and they both slowly strolled over to her house, Gail walking with her.

"That makes you the romantic here."

"It does not. It makes me the optimist here. I'm not waiting for anyone to save me."

"I never said I was waiting for anyone to save me." Gail stated back, surprised the brunette that said that.

"Well it was implied," Holly defended,

"Sorry to tell you it was not. Besides, who can you trust in this world?"

"Strangers in the train station clearly," Holly laughed back, walking up the alleys n they both stopped in front a 2 story house, while Holly walked up to the front door, while Gail stood a few feet away looking at Holly as she stood in front of the door.

"Well, guess this is goodbye." Gail said, coyly kicking the ground and shifting as Holly smiled a little as she opened the door and turned to look at Gail.

"I guess it is.", she smiled as she went inside and shut the door.  
Gail looked at the door and shook her head; she hadn't even gotten the other woman's name.

Shrugging, Gail walked back to the station to get to where she actually had to go.

* * *

Standing guard at the crime-scene, Gail groaned as a tall brunette hurried past the yellow tape, completely ignoring her.

"Hey Lunchbox, you're not allowed down there."

When the woman turned around to see who exactly had called her a lunchbox, Holly was just as surprised as Gail to see her.

_A.N: In case you didn't notice - this isn't from a movie. This was just my brain playing with a scenario. (If it is – I've never seen it! Let me know if do let me know if my imagination sucks or not. Thanks.)_


	5. Faded

_AN: I don't know what possessed me to write this. I SWEAR. I don't even know if this is from a movie I've repressed or something? Or just a scenario that played out in my head?_

_Consider yourself warned._

You don't want to get up. You don't want to stir an inch. It's been a horrible month. Horrible doesn't begin to cover it. It's been a month. A month since some mobster in a mad-dash of craziness and revenge had gunned down your police officer girlfriend. It's been a month and the memory doesn't leave you.

You are staring at the ceiling and all that crosses your mind is the fact that she isn't there. Next to you. She's supposed to be next to you, with her blonde hair a complete mess and all sexed up from the night you should have had together. But she isn't. And the other end of the bed is as cold as ever.

What really engulfs you is this massive hole she's left here. You hadn't expected to fall for someone this hard. This bloody hard. You were an independent woman. You knew how to tackle life on your own. What really hits home is that all the independence and confidence you are can't make up for the basic fact that you can not just function without her. You find that absolutely insane. This woman's absence has broken you. What's worse is you don't want to revert back to the woman you were. You want to cling on to every bit of the person you were with her. You want to so badly just have her by your side. And you can't. And that kills every sliver of hope that emerges in your mind.

You toss and turn in the bed. A month back, the sheets still smelled of her. And you had reveled in the little solace they brought. Now, all that you had were dirty sheets, that gave you nothing to remind you of the woman you once shared those sheets with. You knew you had to get up and wash those sheets. But not now. Not now.

Your phone rings and you barely move. You don't want to talk to anyone but her. Anyone but her can go to hell now. It continues to ring which makes you want to check who it is that is calling you. A lot of friends have been calling you every other day - and while you appreciate their concern, but you really can't take them now. Mornings were always the hardest. You just want to fade into oblivion till something or the other forces you out of bed. To the point where you're wondering what exactly it is that will pull you out of bed today.

Grabbing your phone to see who it was that was calling you, You see the call end and the screen flashes back to the date and time.

It's today. It's Saturday the Thirteenth. Which makes it today. And a part of you wants to sink deeper into the sheets and never resurface again.

So you don't move. You close your eyes and try to focus on this day, a year ago.

And you can't. No matter how hard you try, your focus keeps shifting to the last month. And you're scared that you can't recall any of the good times you had with her. A lot of your friends had warned you that you probably loved her more than she did, and you had rubbished them as unawareness on their part. But you had to admit, you had consoled yourself with that petty thought. You felt that lack of love you would experience in the forthcoming weeks wouldn't be as comparable to the fact that you didn't have anyone to love anymore. You know that's a selfish thought. You feel guilty that your thoughts are this twisted - but you give into the tiny bit of relief it brings.

A knock on the door brings your mind back to the room you refuse to leave under any circumstances. You can hear the alternating sounds of the doorbell and knocking and you do not budge - hoping whoever it was would take the hint and go away. That doesn't seem to be happening however.

After ten minutes of someone relentlessly making their presence known at the front door, annoyance finally overcomes you and you get up in a huff to reach the front door. As you do so, you wonder why it is so hard to do something as trivial as opening the door, your mind flashes back to all those times you opened that very door and there would be your gorgeous blonde. You had to now brace yourself every time you opened the door. This made living even more terrifying. You had to brace yourself while doing the most mundane of things as everything you did, you were reminded of her. Every drab task had now turned into an uphill battle, and this was probably what wore you down the most. Because as broken as you are, you don't like to be perceived as such. You like to put up a brave face, a mask behind which to hide. You find the irony of the situation that your girlfriend was the Queen of wearing masks, and now you had to resort to wearing one too.

You open the door, expecting one of your friends or one of Gail's friends. It's not uncommon that they come to check up on you. And you don't mind that much. It helps you have a moment or two of sanity, as they make the coffee and bring you over some breakfast - tasks you still haven't ventured out to do again. To your surprise you see a pale-faced rookie you've never met before. He's visibly trembling before you - and you don't blame him. You probably look like a monster on the loose and you must have scared the guy when you didn't open the door for so long. He holds up a clear plastic zip lock bag and you recognize its contents immediately.

Gail's phone and wallet.

These two items had been taken away as evidence - and had been holed up there - till today. You reach out to take the bag and rookie gives you it to you without a word, before slinking away. You go inside and sit on the couch, an achievement of sorts for you. You've not sat on the couch unless someone was over - and you reassure yourself that you can get through this. You can.

You fiddle with Gail's phone and you realize it's been wiped clean. It's as if it is brand new - and you check every conceivable app to see anything Gail might have left but you find nothing.

Emptiness fills you yet again and you are about to go back and sink into the bed again when you notice the wallet. It was one of those things you've never really noticed about anyone. Sure, everyone has a wallet. It wasn't something she had remembered seeing Gail having particular affection for. It was what it was - just a wallet.

You pick up the wallet and dig through it. You don't exactly know what you're looking for - but you're looking anyway. You find various ID's, Driver's License and other random cards. A few bills are stuffed here and there - the bill at the last pizza place you both shared a meal is there and you take the little piece of paper with such care. You know it's insane - but this piece of paper feels like that last thing that reminds you of her and you prize it. Digging around further in the wallet till you find nothing else - your heart sinks a little more. You had wanted these two things to give you some sort of closure on this day- and so far - except for the bill - the wiped-phone and the wallet were probably the dullest parts of Gail that had been handed to her now. Fumbling with the wallet for the last time, you come across a hidden flap with something inside. You are immediately surprised at this. You hadn't thought of Gail as someone who would keep something away in a tiny pocket of her wallet. You dig into it with much difficulty and pull out a thin, old photograph and gasp.

It's a photograph you recognize easily - it's a picture of your younger self - grinning widely with a few teeth missing and staring so happily into the camera. You immediately think off the time you had taken Gail to your parents for dinner - where the weather had taken a turn for the worse and you had to spend the night in your old room. It was decidedly difficult for any hanky-panky so you both decided that rummaging through your old stuff would have to do. She had laughed at every single picture of you - claiming you were definitely nerdier back then. You can't remember Gail showing any special attachment to the photograph you have in your hand right now - and try as you might - you can't remember her doing anything but teasing you adorably. You turn the photograph over and find something scribbled in Gail's handwriting.

_Little Lunchbox._

At that, any tiny bit of resolve you had in your heart breaks.

This woman loved you more than you had known. More than you would ever know.


	6. Where would I be without my woman?

_Is it horrible that when the producers said 'We would get to see some of Gail's growth' – I envisioned something like this?_

Gail wasn't used to getting up in the night in her warm, comfy bed to find the other end bare. In fact - it had never been like this with Holly. Gail always loved waking up with Holly next to here - no matter what time of the day it was. So when she couldn't find her girl next to her in the middle of the night, Gail was decidedly annoyed about it. Pulling the sheets a bit, Gail waited for Holly to return back to bed soon - thinking the brunette had gone to fetch a drink of water or something. After ten minutes of waiting in the dark for Holly to return, Gail began turning anxious. Holly wasn't the kind who randomly woke up in the middle of the night. Thinking something must have happened ,Gail forced herself out of bed to seek out her out.

Searching everywhere she could think of - from the kitchen to the bathroom, Gail began to panic a little as she couldn't find her anywhere. Adrenaline pumped through her blood now, she was thoroughly awake - and at the slightest hint - was ready to do some serious damage to any intruder. Tip- toeing around the house and worried about her girlfriend's whereabouts, she suddenly caught sight of her. Gail was about to heave a loud sigh of relief at the sight of her girlfriend, but she stopped short seeing Holly standing alone at the balcony, staring into space, seemingly deep in thought. Quite dumbstruck, she wasn't sure what to do - and in usual Gail fashion - blew everything out of proportion in her mind. Thinking off tangents –Gail thought that perhaps Holly wanted a little time alone, thought that if Holly had needed her she would have woken her up. Gail had to admit it now - as much as she wants to talk to the brunette and coax her back to bed - a part of her doesn't know if it's the right thing to do. Gently leaning against the door frame, Gail bit her lip wondering what her next move ought to be. Gail usually on being confronted with a situation she isn't sure what to do next - does what she does best - climb trees, run away, make up excuses, whatever. Gail could come up with a million euphemisms to represent what is it she does so well - but none of them diminish the basic fact – she's helpless when it comes to situations where she's expected to take charge, make a stand, and lead the way (in romantic situations that is). However, Gail's thought processes as usual led her back to her primary insecurities - perhaps that was why she would forever be a beat cop - and nothing more. Staring at the brunette as she slowly shifted - Gail decided to do what she normally does - walk away. Slipping away and silently wishing she was better at people, Gail slinked back into bed, realizing she was probably the worst girlfriend in the history of humankind.

It was about half an hour before Holly came back to bed; Gail had been counting the minutes. _This is insane,_ she thought to herself - but there was no way she would rake up the courage to ask Holly what was wrong. Feigning sleep and feeling Holly slide into bed next to her - Gail didn't do anything that would give away the fact that she wasn't actually asleep. Waiting till she was absolutely sure the brunette was comfy and asleep, Gail sat up in bed, doing her best to not wake the sleeping brunette. Gail racked her brains to think of anything that might have affected Holly, but couldn't. Her day was normal - no news of any sort from anywhere - so Gail was at a loss of what to think. She didn't know what had gotten to her girlfriend - and was definitely worried - about both her girlfriend and her own capabilities to deal with her.

Gail wasn't used to helping people through their emotions - she could barely make it through her own - and she had always thought of herself as the person who was emotionally dependent on Holly (as much as she liked to publicly deny it). Gail could feel the blood stilling in her veins - she was sure if she had to be there for Holly (whatever that meant) - she was going to be pretty pathetic at it. Horror gripped Gail as her exe's words came back to haunt her. She wasn't girlfriend material of any sort. There was a reason for that. It was romantic to think that Holly had changed that notion - but the truth was still plain to see - Gail wasn't one for processing emotions and feelings - something that's an integral part of relationships.

Needless to say - it took Gail quite a long while to get back to sleep that night.

Morning came - and Gail was watching Holly like a hawk, looking for any sign that the brunette might be feeling a little blue. Failing miserably at that – Gail couldn't do much as the two left for their day's work. All day, Gail was worried about was Holly and anything that might have been bothering her and she had to fight the urge to text the pathologist every half-hour, enquiring if she was alright or not. That wasn't too hard as she was later pulled in for a chase after a petty arms dealer whom the 15 division had managed to snag at the right time. Exhausted after a tiring and rather annoying game of cat and mouse - Gail had been sent off home for the rest of the day. Gail was glad to get any time off as the lack of sleep the previous night and the now tiring chase had drained her - and she rushed back home and promptly fell asleep on the couch.

Holly wasn't exactly blue for any particular reason. She just hadn't been able to sleep and she couldn't exactly say what had gotten to her - but she knew she wasn't her usual self. She had assumed a little alone time in the night would have helped her a bit, but it hadn't. She had badly wanted to wake up the blonde and talk to her - about something , anything - from forensic pathology to sloppy T.V. shows - just a random talk with her girlfriend which would take her mind of whatever that was getting her down. But Holly was terrified of waking the blonde. She knew Gail would immediately know something was wrong with her and Holly wouldn't know how to say to the blonde. She knew Gail's tendency to go off the deep end - and didn't want to trigger that reaction for something was so seemingly pointless. What alone time in the night had revealed to Holly was that she was horrified of feeling vulnerable in front of Gail. Holly knew she was the default emotionally strong one - and letting Gail see the vulnerable side of herself was something Holly was dreading. She had been hoping to be the strong one forever after - but after all - how long do hopes normally last.

It took Holly a lot of energy to be normal the next day - she knew Gail was eyeing her every movement with such intensity - and it was all Holly could do but fake normalcy. Thinking that Gail must have picked up on something - Holly went about her day in her normal way - but all the while feeling a little guilty at Gail's occasional messages asking about her. Holly knew the logical thing to do would be to ensure to her girlfriend that she was okay - but her messages didn't seem to be bringing Gail any relief. After her day was done - Holly drove back home knowing that she would have to do something to make her girlfriend relax.

Walking into the house - Holly stopped to see Gail fast asleep on the couch. All her inhibitions from the previous night fell away and Holly had the overwhelming urge to snuggle up in her girlfriend's arms. Not thinking twice - Holly dropped her coat and bags on the floor and tried to lie down in the little space next to Gail. Gail stirred instinctively in her sleep and moved a little - making space for the brunette to lie down next to her. Holly rested her head on the blonde's shoulder and her body melted into Gail's frame, a smile slipping on to her face as she closed her eyes and immediately felt drowsy in the blonde's arms. Gail woke up slowly - a little surprised at the turn of events. She tried moving a bit to see Holly was comfy and almost half asleep in her arms. Gail could feel her fears slowly fading away. This wasn't so bad - this was actually nice. They seemed to be a perfect fit no matter. That hadn't made Gail worry any lesser however.

"Hey are you -"

Gail was cut short but Holly pressing a finger against her lips and softly shushing her.

"You can only make it worse from here." she softly whispered in Gail's ears and slowly falling asleep, with a sleepy grin on her face.

Gail huffed at that reply but was glad. That was more like her cheeky, smart girlfriend. Smiling that she had somehow managed to make her girlfriend better, Gail felt better. Maybe this wasn't as bad as she had thought it out to be after all.


	7. Free to be Me

Gail fumbled with the nearly empty packet as she pulled out a half-crushed cigarette out of the pack. This was pushing it a bit - even for herself - Gail did go to glorious lengths to be a rebel - and usually drew the line at silly yet sufficiently obnoxious enough to piss of her mother just the right amount. However, her mother had gone overboard this time - and Gail was stopping at nothing to rebel - even if it meant clogging up her lungs. She hadn't a freaking clue how to smoke - but hey - how hard could it be. Lighting up the cigarette and taking in a drag - Gail immediately coughed it out. No one told her it was smoking was this horrendous to the smoker themselves. It took Gail a couple of tries but she managed to get the hang of this.

Trying to quell the burning sensation in her throat, Gail spotted a dark, brunette strolling towards her, with a sling bag and carrying a couple of books. The brunette regarded Gail with a frown, but ignored her for now and sat one the other end of the long bench, in the empty grounds.

Holly could make out she wasn't exactly a pro-smoker. She kept coughing at every drag - and clearly didn't realize she was wasn't quite smoking the cigarette in the process, giving her second-hand smoke in anyway.

"I wouldn't continue that if I were you."

Gail turned to eye the brunette with a distasteful look of scorn. Gail felt she had had enough mothering for a while now, but this brunette next to her piqued her interest a bit.

"And it's none of your business."

"I don't see why you're smoking. You don't seem the type."

"And you don't seem the type who talks to strangers after dark." Gail snickered. Damn this brunette for taking away this one moment of solitude she had managed. But Gail wasn't as quite annoyed as she would have usually been.

Holly moved closer to the blonde, quite prepared to deliver a sermon on the ill-effects of smoking.

"Did you know smoking can cause a variety of diseases from lung infections to -

"Cancer. Yeah, Nerd - I can read the pack as well" Gail replied - waving the crumbled-up pack in Holly's face. As much trouble as she was having with smoking the cigarette, she wasn't going to let that affect her cool points.

Holly sighed, she couldn't believe people would put their bodies through all kinds of hell - just for a momentary high.

"I never understood why people smoke." Holly muttered, shaking her head at the blonde who was trying hard to appear relaxed spite the urge to cough every other minute.

Gail had of course thought of an answer which she had planned to give her mother in the event she posed the same question to her. Placing the cigarette in her mouth in an attempt to be cool - Gail decided to talk with the cigarette in her all, she couldn't let the brunette know she was just an amateur.

"Well, for starters it's a really cool habit -"

Gail didn't have the time to finish that sentence as the brunette had already pulled the cigarette out of her mouth and threw it away.

"HEY!"

"I would have taken anything else as an answer - the high it gives, the temporary pain relief - but THAT was a stupid answer."

"Well, Nerd - you forgot I've got a pack right here." Gail sneered back, pulling out the last cigarette and placing in her mouth, knowing pretty well the brunette was giving her such an icy glare, but disregarding her all the same, Gail lit up the cigarette and took another drag and raised her eyebrows at the brunette.

"Well, I hope you die a painful death then!" Holly spat and got up in a huff, quite hurt at the blonde's absolute disregard for her words. Gail knew she was quite over the line and she had to make amends. Besides, no one on Earth dared pull a stunt as blatant as pulling a cigarette out of her mouth - and that had for some twisted reason placed the brunette in the list of people Gail liked.

"Hey! HEY! NERD!" Gail called pulling the cigarette out of her mouth and standing up, hoping the brunette would stop and turn back. She did turn back ,giving her a look of scorn and indifference.

"Look!" Gail threw the cigarette on to the ground and smothered it with the sole of her shoes. Who was she kidding, her lungs and throat felt like something had died inside and the smoke had only made her flushed and a bit out of breath rather than high and cool as people make it seem.

Holly raised an eyebrow and gestured towards the blonde's hand - which was holding the empty packet. Gail crumpled it up and threw it away - and took a few steps towards the brunette. Screw the cigarettes, this brunette seemed more intriguing than anyone she had ever come across.

Holly saw Gail throwing the pack to the ground and smiled. Atleast she wasn't a total failure at convincing the blonde to stop smoking - though she couldn't comprehend why she would throw her cigarette to the ground after she had gotten up in anger.

"So, Nerd, Can I have your number?"

Gail would have gladly eaten the pack of cigarettes after she heard herself mouth those words. She convinced herself the smoke had gotten to her brain and had muddled some stuff there.

Holly let out a little laugh, "Yeah, I don't go out with smokers." she replied, walking away.

"But I just quit!"

All Gail heard in reply was a laugh. She would be damned if she didn't come across the brunette again.

* * *

Gail did later manage to get out of the grounds after a while to visit a nearby cafe. If she wasn't going to smoke - she needed turn up at home smelling of tobacco anyway. Besides, she had to come up with a better plan to show her mother she wasn't going to buckle down in any situation.

Stepping into the cafe, the first thing Gail saw of course was the brunette who had gone out of her way to help her, and now Gail had to go out of her way to get her number.

Pulling a chair from a nearby table and dragging towards the brunette's table, she saw that brunette was nose deep in a book of anatomy. No wonder she was going all out to stop smokers.

"So, I don't know if it's the smoke that's left me a bit confused or something - but you're the girl who pulled a cigarette out of my mouth, right?"

Holly looked at the blonde, whose chair was very close to her own, but she wasn't worried. She liked this blonde who was hell-bent on getting her number - but that didn't mean she was going to go easy on her.

"Yeah. That was me. Or as you know me - Nerd."

"You know,if I knew your name - I wouldn't have to call you that."

"I think Nerd is good for now."

Gail couldn't help it - but the more this girl kept turning down her advances - the more she was intrigued with her.

"You know, I've got to thank you, you know."

"Thank me? For what?" Holly replied, knowing pretty well where this dialog usually goes. But she would be lying if she said wasn't interested in the blonde herself.

"Well, the death wish for one."

Holly hadn't expected that of all the answers. This blonde seemed to be a whole different deal. But she wasn't going to give in now.

"Well, I'm sorry about that but -"

"Well you can apologize by giving me your name" Gail cut in - trying to be as smooth as possible.

"Do you even realize how obnoxious you are being?"

Gail internally winced at that, damn the brunette was calling her out on all her stunts. But that wasn't deterring her. Not one bit.

"Says the woman who snatched a cigarette from my mouth."

"Well, you weren't smoking it exactly." Holly jibed back, taking the last sip from her cup of coffee and getting ready to leave.

"So then, how do I thank you, Nerd?" stressing the Nerd, in her attempt to annoy the brunette and at the least get her name.

"Well, I don't really expect anything in return, but thanks."

Gail knew she had lost the battle, but as the brunette was putting away her books, Gail caught her name on the cover of one of the text books and grinned to herself.

"Besides, as you know, I don't date smokers." Holly finished as smoothly as she could, gathering up her stuff and leaving the blonde by herself. Holly would have loved to learn the blonde's name - but that was going to wait a bit now - due to her incessant need to play games.

Holly swiftly walked out of the cafe, leaving Gail at the table. The score was 0-2 in her favor.

Gail sat at the table with a silly smile on her face. Oh, she was definitely smitten by Holly S.

* * *

The next day, Holly was considerably surprised to find a short and to-the-point note stuffed in her locker.

_Hey Nerd,_

_This is my number. Text me when you want to curse someone ever again._

_'Smoking' Hot._


	8. Meet the Stewarts

Meet the Stewarts

'Hol, where's my tie?' Gail called out. She wasn't quite used to the feeling of being this nervous. Nope, not one of her top - ten emotions.

'Gail, you're going to meet my parents, not marry me!' Holly replied with a chuckle, finding a very flustered looking Gail absolutely adorable. Gail wasn't one to easily get nervous - and the fact that Gail was going all out to impress her parents touched Holly immensely.

'I don't think the occasion warrants a tie Gail, it's just a nice quiet meal with my mom and dad - '

'I want your parents to like me. And parents don't usually like me. So excuse me for being just a tad worried about tonight.' Gail sighed, deciding that perhaps the tie would be a bit over-board in the 'I'm qualified to date your daughter' department.

'Gail, honey - my parents are going to love you. Just as yours loved me.'

Gail rolled her eyes at that. Of course Elaine Peck loved Holly, quite possibly more than she loved Gail. Gail still couldn't forget the memory of both Holly and her mother laughing and chatting at 100 miles per hour, about her. Trust Holly to have Elaine Peck wrapped around her little finger.

'That doesn't count when you're as adorable as you are.' Gail muttered, falling back into the bed. She was definitely going to need some alcohol to get through her evening.

'Aww, thanks babe.' Holly smiled back, giving Gail a quick peck on the cheek before getting up to leave.

'Can we stop at the bar for a few drinks?'

Holly scoffed at that, 'Sure, Gail - I'll just tell my dad - a man who values punctuality as much anything that we'll be late because you needed a few drinks.'

Gail frowned at that.

_ Should have had the alcohol beforehand._

—

Walking from the car up to the front steps of the Stewart residence, Gail immediately felt sick. This was all turning too real, too fast. Who was she kidding, parents did not like her, her own parents barely liked her - and here she was going to meet the most important and intimidating person ever. Nope, no way was this evening going to be anyway the way she wanted it to be.

'I think I'm going to be sick.' Gail whispered in Holly's ear as she rang the doorbell_. Great timing on that, Peck._

'Well, don't.' Holly replied, knowing that her father would never approve of that.

Gail took a deep breath and centered herself.

_Come on Peck, you can do this. You're a police officer for Christ's sake. You deal with thugs everyday - this should not throw you off._

No sooner than 10 seconds since Holly rang the doorbell, the front door opened and a huge man stepped out.

'Daddy!' Holly exclaimed in joy, giving her dad a tight hug as Rob Stewart wrapped his arms around his daughter as well.

Gail had heard plenty about Colonel. Robert Stewart - but nothing prepared her for the sight she faced. Towering well over 6 and a half ft, Rob Stewart looked like a man who could crush bones with his bare hands. Clean-shaven and impeccably dressed, Rob Stewart still looked like he was ready to march off into war at the first sign of it. Gail had to try really hard to not visibly gulp at the man, who for all his machismo, was smiling gleefully as he hugged his daughter. Rob Stewart looked like the man who never bent his will, but was willing to go to the ends of the world for his daughters.

_If I wasn't terrified enough._

_Oh shit, what do I do now? _Gail was trying to figure what to do next._Handshake? Hug? What do I call this guy? Sir? Colonel?_

'Daddy this is Gail.' Holly started, turning to introduce Gail to her father, who outstretched his hand towards Gail.

_Handshake it is._

'Pleasure to meet you, Sir.' Gail replied, hoping her nervousness wasn't obvious.

'Oh please,' Rob Stewart laughed, shaking Gail's hand vigorously, 'Call me Colonel.'

Gail's eyes widened at that.

_Off on the wrong foot from the start. Terrific._

'Daddy!' Holly exclaimed, knowing her father was being playful.

'Fine, fine you can call me Rob,' the Colonel replied with a little twinkle in his eye as he let go of Gail's hand and ushered the two girls inside. Holly ran in to greet her mother, as Gail stood at the threshold of the house, removing her coat.

Monica Stewart was a kindly, no non-sense woman, who was at that time busy preparing setting up the table for dinner. Holly gave her mother a tight hug and introduced Gail as she stepped into the dining room.

'Good evening Mrs. Stewart' Gail started and stopped short as Monica pulled her in for a tight hug.

_ Oh God, hugs._

Gail internally groaned and Holly grinned at seeing Gail and her mother.

'You seem nervous dear! Don't let him get to you.' Mrs. Stewart told Gail with a wink. Gail immediately steeled her mind. No way she was going to get through this evening if she seemed nervous already.

'You two!' Colonel Stewart called out with a loud laugh, 'Stop that! Besides, what joy does an old man have other than terrifying the people his daughters bring home hmm?'

Holly and Mrs. Stewart laughed at that, Gail on the other hand didn't know whether to be terrified of the man's words or to take him for his playful tone.

Holly, of course started helping her mother with everything, leaving Gail and the Colonel alone.

_Holly Stewart, don't you do this to me._

'So, Gail, what's your poison?'

Gail turned around as quickly as she could, her mind half wondering if the Colonel actually had a vial of poison somewhere. She was immensely relieved when she saw the Colonel holding up a bottle of scotch.

_Alcohol! Yay!_

'Scotch, neat.' deciding that perhaps her usual choices of Bourbon or Tequila were not good for this time.

The Colonel nodded, clearly impressed with Gail's choice. For once, Gail felt her high tolerance of alcohol had a good use.

Gail accepted the clear glass which Rob offered her and the two of them moved towards the living room.

The house was extremely cozy, without being showy. A show-case filled with various plaques and awards the Colonel had received over the years was at one end of the room. The walls were filled with various pictures - both family ones and ones for the sake of adorning the house. Numerous photos of Holly and her sister were scattered over the wall, giving the room an extremely homey feel. The furniture over the room was simplistic as well. An arm-chair - which was clearly reserved for the Colonel was at the centre of the room, flanked by sofas on both sides. On the whole - the house was definitely comfy for the elderly couple.

Rob took his glass of scotch and sat on his arm chair, motioning to Gail to take a seat on one of the sofas. Gail was still considerably shaken up from the Colonel's previous words and would have loved to guzzle all the scotch that was in her glass in a gulp. Deciding that would be indecorous, Gail held the glass in her hand, trying her best to feign casualness, hoping her usual mask was just as it always is.

'So, Gail, Holly tells me you're a police officer?'

Gail decided to stick to the safe side and address the Colonel as sir anyway.

'Yes sir, 15th division. Toronto PD.'

'Ahh.' Rob replied, taking a sip of his drink. Gail too decided she needed the hit of booze, took a heavy gulp from her glass.

'Wasn't that division involved with a shooting last year?'

'Yes Sir, It was -' realizing that being an officer at a precinct that had lax security in itself wouldn't be exactly heartening to the Colonel.

'Utter madness' the Colonel exclaimed, and Gail noticed that the Colonel hadn't exactly opposed her referring to him as Sir.

_I'm not in the good books._

'What happened?'

Gail proceeded to elaborate on the happenings of that day, explaining about the officers that were shot - leaving out the part where she stuck her tongue down his daughter's throat.

_This is her father Gail, the man looks like he could strangle a bear in his sleep._

The conversation flowed on, and the two were deep in conversation about the various weapons the force was using when Mrs. Stewart called them to the dining room.

Gail was a little relaxed, either because of the alcohol or the talk, or both.

As Gail sat at the table, the others took their places as well - Holly was opposite to Gail, the Colonel on her right, and Mrs. Stewart on her left. It was a snug fit.

Gail sat motionless as Mrs. Stewart served them all the food. Holly gave her a reassuring smile.

_You're alive so far._

The Colonel was the first to break the silence - after taking a sip from his water - decided to start with his interrogation of Gail.

'So, Officer - what does the future hold for you?'

Holly gave her small father a sideward glance before looking back at Gail, continuing to eat.

_This is worse than when my mother asks that._

'I do plan for applying for Detective rotations, and working my way up from there.'

The Colonel nodded at that, as he swallowed his food.

'Isn't that a late start, Officer?'

_Mother would have said the same thing._

'Well Sir, I didn't want to be pushed with the crowd blindly, and I assure it is a carefully considered decision - not one for the sake of moving on.'

Gail felt pretty pleased with that answer and smiled at Holly who was grinning her usual lopsided grin back at her.

_Finally opened score Peck. Well done._

Suddenly, an all too familiar tune came on, and on hearing it both Gail and Holly looked up at each other in absolute horror.

_Don't go there, Peck. DON'T go there._

It was too late.

_Da doo. Da doo._

_Do. Da doo._

_Da doo wop._

_Do. Da doo._

Gail immediately coughed, almost gagging on air as some extremely inappropriate imagery scrolled past her mind.

_You're having dinner with her parent's Gail. Pull it together._

Holly of course had dropped her fork and was running her fingers across her was insanely turned on at a blushing Holly, who was looking anywhere but up.

'That must be your sister calling. I've told her umpteen times to not call during dinner - ' Mrs. Stewart muttered as she got up to take the call. Holly of course had turned a bright red and was willing to go hide beneath the table for the amount of embarrassment she was feeling. A minute later, the Colonel followed his wife to talk to his daughter.

The duo sat like a pair of kids who were trying to hide their shenanigans. Holly was trying her best to regain her composure, but Gail was extremely amused seeing Holly so red, burst out into laughter. Holly gave her her best glare - which only served to make Gail laugh more.

Soon, the couple did come back to finish their meal, and Gail hoped against hope her interrogation was done.

'Mom - who told you about that song?' Holly questioned, wondering when did her mother become a fan of to Indie Music.

'Oh your sister set that song dear, It sounds nice and soothing.'

Gail was on the verge if bursting into laughter once again but remembering the Colonel was just behind her, decided to play it cool.

'Tell me about your parents, Officer.' the Colonel addressed Gail as he sat back down at the table.

_This isn't going to end soon is it?_

Gail started about her police dynasty of a family - not going too deep into specifics.

'Your mother is the Superintendent?' the Colonel exclaimed in surprise and Gail internally rolled her eyes.

_This isn't going good is it?_

The worst part of it all was Gail couldn't make out if she was doing well or not. So far, the Colonel was just taking in all she had to say.

_When will the results of this test be out already?_

The rest of the meal went on quite peacefully with Mrs. Stewart asking Gail various questions about her job.

After dinner, the Colonel stepped out to the porch to have his nightly cigar while Holly and her mother disappeared somewhere into the house leaving Gail alone.

_Now or never Peck._

Gail stepped out to the porch and joined the Colonel. Gail had been waiting for this moment for a long time and was bursting with impatience to have a private moment with the Colonel.

Gail approached the man and stood beside as him as he leaned over the little parapet that looked over the decided the Colonel wasn't one for beating about the bush lightly - and decided to be as direct as possible.

'Before you say anything', the Colonel began, 'let me put it out there that I don't care who you or your parents are. If you dare hurt my Holly, I will make you feel extremely sorry for it.'

Gail nodded, knowing well that the man was quite capable of carrying out his word. Then again - Gail wasn't surprised at that. She had been waiting for this all evening,

"I wouldn't expect any less Sir. But I swear to you that I would never do that. I love your daughter, and I intend to marry her someday.'

The Colonel turned to look at Gail with a look of surprise and anxiety. Gail of course misconstrued that as anger.

_Oh my God he's going to throw me over this wall isn't he?_

'She'll be constantly worried about you.' he stated, softly remembering the times his little girl had cried in his arms every time he had to leave for an assignment. Gail shook her head as well. That was something she really wished she could change.

'I know, Sir.'

Gail was surprised at the Colonel's words. She suddenly remembered Holly's description of him.

'He's like this big bear. Intimidating to look at, all fuzzy once you get to know him.'

The Colonel looked at Gail with a little smile. 'Call me Rob, Gail. '

_Did I just pass?_

'And I certainly have no apprehensions with you marrying my daughter. You're a good person Gail and that's all that matters to me. I trust that my daughter knows best - but I have no doubt you will be a good wife for my Holly.'

Gail's joys knew no bounds - she was grinning the hardest she had ever in her life.

_I passed!_

Gail was sure even if the Colonel hadn't given her his blessing she would have proposed to Holly anyway - but it was good to know her family approved of her.

'What you two doing out here?' Holly asked, sticking her head out into the little porch.

The Colonel winked at Gail and replied.

'Oh I was just telling Gail here about the time you decided you could fly because you thought you had 'turned-off' gravity.'

Gail chuckled at that and at Holly's look of horror.

_All that's left is to pop the question._


End file.
